Dr. Justin H. Lonon
Chancellor, Dallas College
Dear Industry Partner,
We are at a critical time for the state of higher education and our local workforce. Our society continues to evolve quickly and without considerable adaptation, our students – the innovators and leaders of tomorrow – are at risk of being left behind.
The world of work is changing. While emerging fields like artificial intelligence, automation and robotics are quickly shaping the jobs of tomorrow, we’re also faced with an unprecedented national workforce shortage of 3 million workers. This comes as Texas is projected to add over 350,000 jobs in 2024.
Our workforce and economy rely heavily on highly skilled and educated talent – talent trained by our institution with tremendous support from organizations such as yours. By incorporating more experience-based learning like apprenticeships and internships, we can provide our students with unique opportunities for hands-on training.
Working in tandem with industry leaders, our sector development strategy is designed to provide targeted workforce development programming that benefits workers, employers and the economic viability of the region. Current sector focus areas include construction, aerospace and health care.
Take our new Dallas College Workforce Center at RedBird for example. In partnership with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, we’ve transformed over 50,000 square feet of space into an innovative workforce training ground in the heart of southern Dallas County – an area with limited career training resources. The per capita income for the RedBird area is $21,767, below the federal poverty line of $37,638. We’re working to solve this longstanding issue by providing responsive training that prepares people to accept well-paying roles in high-demand sectors. In its initial configuration, the center will train pharmacy lab technicians, forklift operators, logistics associates and aviation technicians, among others.
As the largest community college in Texas, working with the business community enables us to deliver on our commitment to our community. And backed by the $1.1 billion bond package which Dallas County voters overwhelmingly approved in 2019, we continue to ignite innovation across our campuses.
Your partnership can drastically improve our students’ lives. In Dallas County alone, three out of four people do not earn a living wage of at least $50,000. Dallas College students are not immune from this reality, with 77% identified as economically disadvantaged.
The result is being able to provide our industry partners with a direct talent pool. Together, we can ensure a students’ transition from classroom to career is as seamless as possible.
As leaders within our community, it will take our collective collaboration to mold and shape the workforce and economy of tomorrow.
We look forward to working with you soon.
Best,
Dr. Justin H. Lonon
Chancellor, Dallas College